Severe thunderstorms barrelled through the southern regions of Saskatchewan over the weekend, unleashing heavy rainfall that caused flooding in parts of Regina and nearly reached the 100-millimetre mark in Mankota.
According to Environment Canada, Regina was drenched with 52 millimetres of rain, over half of which poured down within a single hour, resulting in localized flooding. Meteorologist Kyle Ziolkowski from Environment Canada explained that the intense rainfall was due to a slow-moving weather system, a pattern that has been more prevalent this year, leading to elevated precipitation levels.
The village of Mankota, located near Grasslands National Park, experienced even more extreme conditions, with a staggering 99.6 millimetres of rainfall recorded. Approximately 75 millimetres of rain fell within an hour in Mankota, accompanied by a wind gust of 78 km/h. Additionally, reports indicated pea-sized hail near Big Beaver.
Weather forecasts had warned of the potential for slow-moving storms in the southern part of the province to bring about significant rainfall, with rates as high as 50 millimetres per hour in concentrated areas. The storms that swept through Regina on Saturday afternoon exemplified this phenomenon.
Ziolkowski emphasized the importance of the storms’ slow progression, attributing the prolonged heavy rainfall to the absence of strong upper-level winds to propel the storms forward. He emphasized that summer thunderstorms are not unusual but can vary in intensity and behavior from day to day.
Images captured in the aftermath of the severe weather depict flooded streets in Regina and the aftermath of the intense storms that passed through the region.